Genesis 47:25
in Genesis 47“You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor in our lord’s eyes, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.
KJV
And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.
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This verse in Genesis 47
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
You have saved our lives
on Genesis 47:25-26
The people who have just sold themselves call Joseph their deliverer. Origen and Matthew Henry read Joseph here as a figure of Christ, the one man holding bread, giving them back seed for the field. The New Testament never names Joseph a type, so the reading is theirs.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And they said, thou hast saved our lives,.... Preserved them from death through famine, by laying up stores of corn, which he had sold out to them for their money, cattle, and land, or otherwise they must have perished, they and theirs, and this favour they thankfully acknowledge: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants; signifying, that they esteemed it a great favour to be so on the foot of the bargain made with them, and they desired a continuance in it.
Note, There is good reason that the Saviour of our lives should be the Master of our lives. "Thou hast saved us; do what thou wilt with us." IV. The reservation he made in favour of the priests.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֶחֱיִתָ֑נוּ | hecheyitanu | you have preserved alive us | H2421 → | 282 times |
| נִמְצָא־ | nimtza'- | may we find | H4672 → | 455 times |
| חֵן֙ | chen | favor | H2580 → | 69 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֣י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֔י | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| וְהָיִ֥ינוּ | vehayinu | and we will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֲבָדִ֖ים | ʾavadim | slaves | H5650 → | 799 times |
| לְפַרְעֹֽה׃ | lefaroh | of Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֖וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
הֶחֱיִתָ֑נוּyou have preserved alive us
hecheyitanuH2421 →282 times
נִמְצָא־may we find
nimtza'-H4672 →455 times
חֵן֙favor
chenH2580 →69 times
בְּעֵינֵ֣יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
אֲדֹנִ֔יlord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
וְהָיִ֥ינוּand we will be
vehayinuH1961 →3559 times
עֲבָדִ֖יםslaves
ʾavadimH5650 →799 times
לְפַרְעֹֽה׃of Pharaoh
lefarohH6547 →274 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 50:20As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.
it leads to
- Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Psalms 119:71
It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.
- Genesis 45:5–8
And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you.
- Genesis 37:18–20
Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him.
- Acts 2:23
He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.
- Romans 8:28
Through
Ruth 2:13“My lord,” she said, “may I continue to find favor in your eyes, for you have comforted and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your servant girls.”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 16:4
So the king said to Ziba, “All that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!” “I humbly bow before you,” said Ziba. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king!”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 1:18
“May your maidservant find favor with you,” said Hannah. Then she went on her way, and she began eating again, and her face was no longer downcast.
- 2 Samuel 16:4
Through
Genesis 33:15“Let me leave some of my people with you,” Esau said. But Jacob replied, “Why do that? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”
it leads to
- Ruth 2:13
“My lord,” she said, “may I continue to find favor in your eyes, for you have comforted and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your servant girls.”
- Ruth 2:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
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About Genesis

This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, Homilies on Genesis.
